


Halloween

by wilderwestqueen (untakenbeepun)



Category: How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: F/M, Modern AU, actually, and not in the good way, i had definitely just finished playing night in the woods when i wrote this, i'm pretty sure hiccup and astrid witness a murder, mild reference to murder, not so mild reference to murder, spooky shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-19
Updated: 2018-06-19
Packaged: 2019-05-25 13:43:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,610
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14978372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/untakenbeepun/pseuds/wilderwestqueen
Summary: A halloween dare turns sinister.





	Halloween

The leaves were withered, crunching underfoot. Astrid was a few paces ahead, a torch in hand as she ducked under branches and climbed over tree roots, as nimble as a dear. Hiccup lagged behind, arms folded over his chest. He’d already tripped three times.

“Come home for reading week,” he was muttering to himself. “It’ll be fun. You’ll get to see all your old friends again. Nothing bad will happen.”

In front, Astrid’s jaw clicked. “Are you gonna keep whining?”

“I didn’t sign up to die in some dumb Halloween dare.”

“You’re not going to ruin this for me,” she said, twisting back to glare at him.

Even by the dim light of the torch, Hiccup could make out Astrid’s face, streaked with Halloween make up, her blonde hair loose down her shoulders. Even now, even in the dark, it made his tongue go dry and his brain a little fuzzy. 

 _Get it together_ , he told himself, firmly.  _You’re supposed to be over this._

“It’s not going to be my fault when we both die of exposure,” he said.

Astrid sighed, turning on her heel. “We’re not going to die.”

“Do you even know where you’re going?”

She didn’t answer.

“Great,” Hiccup mumbled, wrapping his arms tighter around himself and shivering.

“Have I ever done you wrong, Hiccup?” she said.

“I’m not sure you want me to answer that.”

There was pause, and then Astrid grinned. “I missed your sarcasm,” she said. “Hell, I missed _you_.”

Hiccup blinked. “You did?”

Astrid stilled, turning back to look at him again. “Yeah. ‘Course I did,” she said. “It’s not the same without you here.”

Hiccup was glad it was dark, so she couldn’t see him blush. “I…” he began, and then trailed away. “I didn’t really want to come back.”

“I don’t blame you,” she said, flatly.

She went on trudging through the woods, the grip on her torch firmer. He had to scurry to catch up.

“I missed you too,” he said, but it was too late, the words fell flat in the air.

They kept on in silence for a few metres before Hiccup spoke again.

“It’s strange how much things have changed,” he said.

“Have they?” She paused to move a few branches out of the way of the path. “Seems like nothing’s changed.”

Hiccup gingerly followed her footsteps. “It feels like nothing’s changed and everything’s changed at the same time.”

“How so?”

“I mean…” Hiccup began, and then trailed off, as if thinking of the exact right words to say. “Everything looks exactly the same, but it’s like… I don’t belong anymore. Like the town moved on without me while I was away, and now I can’t keep up with it. Sometimes I feel like a guest in my own home. The people I used to know look at me differently now, like I’m not allowed to be here anymore.”

“Well, you did leave,” Astrid said, crisply. Her torch flickered, and she bashed it against a tree trunk until it was working properly. “Town’s always been very sensitive about that.”

“It’s not my fault I wanted to go to university,” he said.

“And I didn’t?” she said, her teeth gritting together. The leaves underfoot cracked louder than before as she stomped her way through the greenery. “You act as if you’re the only one who decided to get the hell out. Believe me, Hiccup, I’d jump at the chance if I could.”

“That’s not what I meant,” he said, quickly.

“That’s what it sounded like.”

Hiccup kicked a pile of leaves up in the air. “You’ve changed too.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Hanging out in a whole new crowd,” he said. “Disappearing off into woods in the middle of the night. Poking at murder trees.”

“Enough,” she snapped.

“What are you trying to prove?” he said.

“Nothing.”

“Bullshit,” Hiccup said.

Astrid’s head snapped up, and Hiccup felt a wave of guilt rise up in him. He rarely swore, and he certainly hadn’t mean to lose his temper, not with Astrid of all people.  

“I just meant…” he began, his voice taking a softer tone. “Why are we going to this length to impress them? Can’t we just like, take them out for a drink or something? Seems simpler.”

“Ssh,” she said, holding a hand up to his chest for him to be quiet. “We’re here.”

She shuffled forward and Hiccup saw the how the trees thinned, opening up into a clearing, where, dead centre, was the tree.

“Oh good,” Hiccup muttered. “It’s somehow  _more_  terrifying than I imagined.”

It was an elm, larger than the other trees they’d been navigating, built out of twisted pieces of gnarled bark. It was hard to see in the dark, but with enough squinting and Astrid’s torch, they could make out the hollowed centre of the tree.  

“That’s… that’s where the body was found?”

“Yes,” Astrid said, her voice grim. “With a red cloth shoved down her throat.”

“Okay. Good. Right,” Hiccup said. “Y’know, we could just leave, right? We don’t have to do this.”

“I’m doing this.”

“Good. Excellent.”

He watched as she took out a length of white fabric from a pocket, opening up to reveal, ‘Astrid Was Here,’ scrawled on in sharpie, some rope attached to the end. She put one end in the mouth, handed the torch to Hiccup, and then heaved herself up onto a lower branch of the tree.

She took it out, and looked down at Hiccup. “You not coming up?”

“Bad leg, remember.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

But he followed her up anyway. There was something about standing in this clearing alone, surrounded by darkness. It felt like the trees were watching him. Something about being close to Astrid made him feel safer; she’d always acted as if she wasn’t scared of anything, and even if that wasn’t true, it was comforting.

She offered him her hand, and with her help, he hoisted himself up onto the tree next to her.

“You alright?” she said.

“No,” he said. “I’m sitting in a murder tree. What’s next?”

“Next, we tie this up.”

“Y’know, none of them are actually ever going to come out here,” Hiccup said. “They’re too scared, otherwise they’d have come with us. We could just leave and say we did.”

“We’re here now, aren’t we? Besides, they asked for evidence.” She flashed her phone at him. “Take a picture. Make it a good one.”

He took a picture of her sitting on the branch, flag brandished high in her hands. Then his eyes focused on something behind her head, and he froze.

“Astrid,” he breathed. “Don’t turn around.”

“What?”

“There’s someone here.”

She tilted her head the barest inch, and sure enough, she could see the figure, down below them in the darkness, face covered and staring at the tree.

“Do you think he sees us?” Astrid’s voice was so quiet, Hiccup could barely hear it, even with her lips next to his ear.

“Leaves might cover us.”

“Might?”

“Ssh.”

He edged closer, his arm wrapping tight around her waist, pulling her back against the tree branch, using his other hand to move a branch over them, shielding them from view.  

Down below, voices trickled through the trees.

One was panicked, snivelling and gasping for air between words: “Please! It wasn’t my fault!” and when Hiccup and Astrid peaked through the trees, they saw two more figures, dragging a struggling man, wrists bound by rope. He jerked his hands this way and that, desperately trying to get himself free, but to no avail. The two that held him tight, locked in place. He screamed and writhed, his face bright red.

“Please!” he sobbed, his body shaking. “It was a mistake. You don’t have to do this. I won’t say anything. I promise. I promise. Please!”

Hiccup’s entire body froze, his limbs quivering against the tree. Astrid pressed a palm over her mouth.  

Another voice sliced through the air, cold like ice. “How can we be certain?”

His struggles grew more frantic. “You have my word, I promise!”

His captor leaned close, and even this high in the tree, the two of them could see the smile that spread across the man’s face. Something about it sent chills all through Hiccup’s body.

“Not good enough.”

Neither Hiccup and Astrid saw anything. At that point, Astrid had pressed her head tight into Hiccup’s shoulder. Hiccup had squeezed his eyes shut. At some point, without realising, the two had linked their hands together, holding on tight.

They heard it, though.

The screams ripped through the woods, and Astrid’s hold on Hiccup grew tighter, the two of them clutching at each other in stone cold fear. Neither of them dared move, or look up at one other, they just held tight, their eyes squeezed shut as the screams continued.

Finally, painfully, the screams stopped, and the woods fell into silence again.  

A few long seconds passed. And then: “Make it quick. I wanna get out of here as soon as possible.”

Neither Hiccup or Astrid braved a look, but they could hear something moving down below, and the grunts of two of the men, as if they were picking up a heavy object.

“Wait—” the sounds stopped— “what was that?”

The branch had creaked under their weight. A panicked look passed between the two of them. Astrid pointed at another tree branch. Together, they tried to move, as silently as possible, to safety. The branch creaked even more as they moved, a loud and long one.

Hiccup froze, half way between branches. He locked eyes with the figure down below.

The branch broke. Hiccup and Astrid fell.


End file.
